LDP's Nikai Eager to Welcome China's Xi in Japan

Tokyo, May 18 (Jiji Press)--Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, expressed his eagerness to welcome a visit to Japan by Chinese President Xi Jinping in June, at a meeting with a senior Communist Party of China official in Tokyo on Saturday.

"I want to give a big welcome (to Xi). Preparations are currently under way," Nikai said at the meeting with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC's Central Committee who oversees foreign policy.

Xi is slated to visit Japan to attend the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in the western city of Osaka on June 28-29.

Yang said an expected meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Xi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit will be an important one.

Elsewhere in his talks with Nikai, Yang expressed his hope that Japan-China relations will further develop in 2019, which he called a year of special significance.